ZIP 97119 vs ZIP 97116

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97119 (Gaston, OR) and ZIP 97116 (Forest Grove, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97119 has a population of 4,420 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 97116 has 24,104 at 129 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 97119 reports a median household income of $115,515 against $92,613 in ZIP 97116, with per-capita income of $50,660 vs $37,471. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.7% in 97119 and 32.7% in 97116. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 14.2%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 4.2% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $629,000 in 97119 versus $495,800 in 97116, with median rent of $1,433 and $1,463 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.7% vs 66.4%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.